Hachioji expands SOS network after special-needs teen’s death

From Kyodo

October 13 2025

TOKYO – The municipal government of Hachioji in western Tokyo has expanded its SOS Network, a system that helps locate missing people, to cover those with intellectual disabilities and others in need.

The program, previously limited to elderly residents with dementia, was broadened this summer following the death of a 16-year-old boy in July last year.

Daijiro Kubota returned home from an end-of-term ceremony at his special-needs school but appeared unsettled, according to his family.

While they briefly left him unattended, he left the house without his GPS-equipped smartphone. Six days later, Daijiro was found dead in a river near an unmanned train station in Yamanashi Prefecture, about 30 kilometers from his home.

Police said Daijiro boarded a bus without money but was not stopped by the driver. At JR Hachioji Station, he told staff he wanted to use the restroom and then passed through the ticket gate before taking a train.

His mother, Mami, said she does not blame anyone but regrets that he did not ask for help. “He loved talking with people. I wish he had stopped somewhere and asked for help,” she said.

For parents like the Kubotas, the risks faced by children with intellectual disabilities are ever-present.

Sudden impulses, sensory discomfort, or emotional distress can cause them to leave home or facilities without warning. Once outside, they are vulnerable to dangers such as traffic accidents, heatstroke, or becoming lost.

The Children and Families Agency reported 167 cases in fiscal 2022 where children with intellectual disabilities went missing from care facilities, underscoring how common such incidents are.

Daijiro’s case prompted a call for change. Last July, a local parents’ association submitted a written request to the central government.

The group warned that Daijiro’s tragedy was “not special but could happen to any family” and called for broader protections through the SOS Network. The Hachioji city government responded the following month by widening eligibility.

The SOS Network operates through a dedicated mobile app that allows users to register photographs and physical descriptions of vulnerable residents. When a person goes missing, that information is shared instantly with police, public transportation providers, and volunteers.

It spread nationwide in the 2010s as traffic accidents involving elderly dementia patients became a growing concern, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

More than 80 percent of municipalities now participate, but only a small number, including Kushiro in Hokkaido and Sagamihara in Kanagawa Prefecture, also cover people with intellectual disabilities, perhaps a reflection of limited public awareness.

For Daijiro’s parents, questions remain. On the first anniversary of his death, his father Junji retraced his son’s likely route, asking, “Why did he come here? Did he walk to the river because it was so hot?”

He returned home still weighed down by grief. “It feels like being choked,” he said. “I don’t want anybody else to suffer from this kind of torment.”

By expanding the SOS Network, Hachioji has taken a step to ensure that Daijiro’s story will not be forgotten — and that other families may be spared the same heartbreak.